Global touchdown: Why the NFL loves London

By Chris Murphy, CNN

Updated 1626 GMT (2326 HKT) October 27, 2012

NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

Brady's bunch – Sunday's match will see Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' quarterback and one of the NFL's biggest stars, return to Wembley. He led his side to a 35-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

Movie Slate – Movie actor Christian Slater was enlisted to help promote the first regular season clash in London back in 2007, when the New York Giants took on the Miami Dolphins.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

Hot streak – But the teams got a little more than they bargained for during the clash, as a streaker invaded the playing field.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

This is Wembley – London's Wembley Stadium is the home of England's national soccer team but also hosts concerts as well as major sporting events. Both visiting NFL teams always take the chance to familiarize themselves with the stadium before their match.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

Touchdown – Michael Crabtree (15) and Chilo Rachal of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate a touchdown in their 2010 victory over the Denver Broncos at Wembley.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

Cheer up – Hosting the NFL also means you get all the trappings that go with it, like the razzamatazz provided by each team's cheerleaders.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

NBA away day – The NFL isn't the only U.S. sport to cross the Atlantic. The NBA hosted its first regular season match in London last year when the Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets played each other twice.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

A slice of puck – The NHL has also staged games in London, the first coming in 2007 when the Anaheim Ducks squared off against the Los Angeles Kings.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

The Italian Job (in China) – European soccer has also explored new lands. Italian teams Juventus and Napoli faced each other in the Italian Super Cup in Beijing before the start of the 2012-13 season.

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NFL prepares for London touchdown10 photos

The 39th game – The appetite for the English Premier League abroad is insatiable, as proved by these fans watching Arsena in a preseason game in Malaysia. But when the prospect of a 39th league game, staged abroad, was mooted it was met by anger from British fans.

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Story highlights

NFL returns to Wembley on Sunday as New England Patriots play St. Louis Rams

Other sports also following U.S. lead by taking matches around the globe

It has become a permanent fixture on the football calendar, and as the NFL prepares to descend on London once again, it seems a permanent touchdown is fast approaching.

As the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams jet in for Sunday's sixth annual regular season clash at Wembley Stadium, there is a growing sense that an NFL franchise could be based fulltime in the British capital before this decade is out.

With the league having voted to persist with the experiment until at least 2016, and the Jacksonville Jaguars committing to four years of visits to London, the NFL is hoping to build on the spike in interest since landing firm feet on foreign shores in 2005.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed at the announcement of this new affirmation to overseas football that the latest deal would increase the swell of support for the game -- likely to be necessary if a franchise is to flourish across the Atlantic.

But if a team is to base itself in Europe, be it in London or anywhere else, it must commit to ingraining the culture of the game in the city it adopts as a new home and guard against antagonizing U.S.-based fans, according to sports business expert Simon Chadwick.

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"Successful overseas expansion will require the NFL to create and embed a culture of American football in overseas territories which will need them to successfully engage with local stakeholders," he told CNN.

"As for us fans, it is important they see that the sport's core values and traditional markets are not being compromised or undermined by overseas expansion.

"Moreover, I think the NFL has to 'sell' expansion to existing fans as being important for the future sustainability and success of the sport."

Building a fan base

If a franchise was to touch down in London, its success would hinge on the following it attracts -- something the league has been trying to build since the first regular-season match between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins drew a crowd of 81,000 to Wembley in 2007.

But the figures are promising. According to the NFL, there is a fan base of 11 million in the UK, which represents a 32% increase in the last two years. More people are playing the game at amateur level too.

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Television numbers are also on the rise, with Sunday games showing a 154% increase in viewers, while the amount of people watching the showpiece Super Bowl has gone up by 74% since 2006.

Goodell has admitted that part of the NFL's reasoning for extending its period of moonlighting in London is to pave the way for a future franchise.

"If we can play multiple regular-season games there, that gives you a better opportunity to be successful if you choose to put a franchise in London," Goodell said, in comments sent to CNN by the NFL.

"But again, that is the other reason for putting two games in London -- we are trying to build that fan base in London. We welcome the fans coming from other parts of Europe.

"But this is a way to really build that fan base right now in London, which will be critical if you did have a franchise there."

Capital attraction

According to Goodell, NFL teams are clamoring to visit London as they bid to spread the word about their teams and their cities, attract new fans and to tap into potentially lucrative new revenue streams.

Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf said his team's clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013 would offer acute exposure of "Minnesota's impressive business community and tourism industry," as well as offering the franchise's Europe-based fans a chance to see the team in action.

Officiating technology in sport 5 photos

Officiating technology in sport5 photos

Touchdown controversy – NFL fans were in uproar earlier this week, when refereeing mistakes led to a last-minute touchdown by the Seattle Seahawks being awarded, giving the franchise a win over the Green Bay Packers. Top-level officials have been locked out of the NFL over a new collective bargaining agreement.

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Officiating technology in sport5 photos

Lampard's lament – Football has had numerous goalline controversies, leading to calls for the sport to adopt technology. Most notably at the 2010 World Cup, when England's Frank Lampard saw his "goal" disallowed in a match against Germany, despite the ball landing well over the line. The incident led to FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitting that the sport needed to embrace goalline technology.

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Officiating technology in sport5 photos

Platini opposed – But Blatter's European counterpart Michel Platini disagrees. The UEFA president would prefer football to expand the use of extra match officials.

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Football's fix? – Extra officials behind each goal have been used in football's Europa League since 2009 and five officials were used during the European Championships earlier this year.

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Hawk-Eye – Sports such as tennis, cricket and the codes of rugby union and league have also incorporated the use of technology to help officials make the correct decisions.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Junior Seau through the years 11 photos

Junior Seau through the years11 photos

Junior Seau through the years – Junior Seau (number 55) of the Chargers makes his move against the Pittsburgh Steelers in San Diego in 2008.

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Junior Seau through the years – Seau lifts the Lamar Hunt AFC Championship trophy after the New England Patriots' 21-12 win over his former team, the San Diego Chargers, on January 20, 2008. Seau played the last four of his 20 seasons for the Patriots.

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Junior Seau through the years – Seau sits on the Chargers' bench in a 1996 game.

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Junior Seau through the years – Seau celebrates a defensive stop against the Kansas City Chiefs in 1996.

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Junior Seau through the years – Seau sits with a towel over his head during a game at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego in 1996.

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Junior Seau through the years – President George W. Bush presents Seau with the President's Volunteer Service Award In the East Room of the White House on May 25, 2005. The award was created to recognize Americans who have made a sustained effort to community service.

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Junior Seau through the years – Seau gets ready for a game against the Buffalo Bills in San Diego in 2001.

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Junior Seau through the years11 photos

Junior Seau through the years – Seau played 20 seasons in the NFL, and is widely considered among the best linebackers in the game's history.

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Junior Seau through the years11 photos

Junior Seau through the years – Patriots Rodney Harrison and Seau celebrate a defensive stop against the Chargers during the 2008 AFC Championship Game.

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Junior Seau through the years11 photos

Junior Seau through the years – Seau emotes during a Patriots-Cardinals matchup in 2008.

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Junior Seau through the years11 photos

Junior Seau through the years – Seau takes the field during the 1999 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Photos: Super Bowl halftime show 9 photos

Photos: Super Bowl halftime show9 photos

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Madonna performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday, February 5.

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. (not pictured) join Madonna on stage dressed as cheerleaders. The pair are featured on "Give Me All Your Luvin," the first single on Madonna's forthcoming "M.D.N.A." It's due out in March.

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Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – The NFL calls the show "the most-watched musical event of the year." An estimated 111 million U.S. viewers were expected to tune into the Super Bowl on Sunday.

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Photos: Super Bowl halftime show9 photos

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Signer Cee Lo Green performs on stage in a glittery choir robe. Earlier in the show he donned a marching band uniform.

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Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Madonna, 53, erupted onto the scene in the early '80s and is ranked by the Guinness World Records as the top-selling female recording artist of all time.

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Photos: Super Bowl halftime show9 photos

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Madonna performs with Redfoo and Sky Blu of LMFAO, the twosome behind the chart-topping single "Sexy and I Know It."

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Photos: Super Bowl halftime show9 photos

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – Madonna started her performance dressed as a Roman goddess clad in black and gold.

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Photos: Super Bowl halftime show9 photos

Madonna's Super Bowl halftime show – The show ended with the words "World Peace" projected onto the field.

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EXPAND GALLERY

But Chadwick says it will be difficult for the NFL to fully infiltrate a country that has a fervent following of its major three sports -- soccer, cricket and rugby -- because of its intrinsically American nature.

"The NFL is one of those sports that is deeply socio-culturally embedded -- it is quintessentially American, which means it only has limited appeal outside its core markets, in much the same way as a sport like cricket," he said.

"Attendances for NFL games in cities like London have been healthy and are likely to generate a financial return for the NFL. Yet how sustainable such revenue streams might be across a season are open to question.

"Hence, games in overseas territories are about building a fan base with a view to generating long-term financial return. The sustainability of sports such as the NFL requires both a culture shift and the implementation of an appropriate strategy.

"The culture shift needs to place in the hearts and minds of potential customers; the strategy needs to acknowledge that a different approach to the marketing the NFL in the UK is needed compared to the United States."

A need for new markets

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is certainly a fan of the idea, as his outfit prepare for their second visit to Wembley.

In quotes on the NFL's international website, Kraft says the game is in danger of "tapping out" in the States due to increased popularity.

"If you look at the last Super Bowl in this past season, we had over 180 million people watching -- that's almost two-thirds of America," he said.

"So for us to grow the game, we have to expand globally. I think I said that the last time we were over here in 2009 and before this next decade is out, I hope we have a team here.

"I think that would be right for the NFL and this fan base has proven they deserve it."

The NFL isn't the only U.S. sport to travel to Europe in search of greater riches.

The NBA staged its first regular season game in London in March 2011 -- the 16th it has played on foreign soil in countries such as Japan and Mexico. The NHL has also dipped its toe in the Thames, holding the first regular season match in 2007.

International competition

It's not just American sports seeking worldwide expansion, but some of these plans haven't gone down as well as the NFL's proposal.

Soccer club Barcelona, for example, refused to play the preseason Super Cup in Beijing, despite the Spanish league having signed a deal with a Chinese promoter.

Barca said China was too far away for club members who might want to attend the game, though it did acknowledge China represents an "attractive market."

There was a strong backlash against the idea of a 39th English Premier League match to be held overseas when the possibility was mooted several years ago, as domestic fans bridled at the prospect that administrators might tamper with their beautiful game.

But Italian sides Juventus and Napoli had no such qualms, as they contested the Italian Super Cup in Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium back in August.

Chadwick added: "Increasingly, it is a trend for sports to take their domestic games abroad, from Italian football's Super Cup, to Formula One with races in places like India. The long-term sustainability of some sports increasingly appears to be dictated by an ability to successfully internationalize and globalize.

"The Premier League clubs already do this themselves; the Premier League trophy has been held in Asia, and UEFA market the Champions League heavily in other countries.

"Nevertheless there is a sense of inevitability about the previously mentioned 39th game that it will return to the agenda sometime soon.

"For the Premier League to compete with other sporting properties, it will be looking at overseas markets and how best to take advantage of the opportunities they potentially present."